Civ 7 if the first in franchise history that allows players to combine Leaders and Civilizations throughout three different Ages to make for unique and in-depth strategies like never before. The first of these Ages is Antiquity, which is comprised of 11 different playable Civilizations. To help you pick the best one possible for your playstyle, here are all of the Antiquity Age Civilizations in Civ 7 ranked from worst to best. You can also see an analysis of these picks in the YouTube video below if you would prefer!
Ranking Every Antiquity Age Civilization in Civ 7! | Civ 7 Antiquity Age Tier List & Best Civs
#11: Egypt
Egypt comes in last on our list, despite looking like a strong Cultural choice at the outset. However, after testing Egypt numerous times, there are simply stronger options and too much variance when playing Egypt.
Pros:
- Strong units for a defensive playstyle
- The Necropolis can feel great with consistent Wonders
- Tyaty is great, but too random to depend on
Cons:
- Better Culture Civs in Antiquity
- Production on Navigable Rivers bonus can be situational
- Poor Civ unlocks for Exploration Age (Abbasid & Songhai)
#10: Khmer
The Khmer have had moments of feeling somewhat strong and have a serviceable Calvary Unit in the Yuthahathi, but fail to impress overall. This Civ feels far too dependent on circumstance and, sadly, falls towards the bottom of our list.
Pros:
- Yuthahathi unit is great for slowly barreling through enemies
- Great Civ if surrounded by Rivers and Flood Plains
Cons:
- Poor Civ unlocks for Exploration and Modern Age (Chola, Majapahit, and Siam)
- Very weak unique Merchant (Vaishya)
- Far too dependent on Rivers and situational seeds
#9: Maurya
The Mauyra have a strong natural ability, giving them an additional Pantheon after getting to Mysticism, however, that is one of the only things this Civilization has going for it.
Pros:
- Additional Pantheon can be very strong if you are able to get to Mysticism early
- Purabhettarah Unique Calvary can be a bulldozer, even better than Khmer’s similar unit
Cons:
- The Unique Quarter, Matha, feels weak by comparison to others
- The Nagarika Unique Settler feels weak compared to other civilian units
- Playstyle dependent on getting value out of Patheon
- Poor Civ unlocks for Exploration Age (Chola & Majapahit)
Image Courtesy of Firaxis
#8: Han
The Han are a fan-favorite thanks to the wacky potential for the Great Wall, however, this Civ is outshined by some others and feels a bit too difficult to make work, at times.
Pros:
- Great Civ unlocks for Exploration and Modern Age (Ming, Mongolia, and Qing)
- Great Wall can be incredible with careful placement
- Solid Unique Units and Civilization ability
Cons:
- Great Wall can feel clunky when it doesn’t fall into place correctly, and limits tiles
- Shi Dafu Unique Unit can feel too random and non-beneficial
- Requires a defensive playstyle to get solid value
#7: Carthage
From an Economic perspective, Carthage is an incredible Civ in the Antiquity Age, however, it has some fatal flaws that keep it lower on our overall Antiuiqty Age ranking of Civilizations.
Pros:
- One of the most fun and unique playstyles in Antiquity
- Punic Port Unique Quarter is one of the best in Antiquity
- Numidian Calvary can be incredible, but only once you get Resources rolling
Cons:
- Very easy to fall behind in Culture and Science
- Somewhat restrictive playstyle
- A poor seed can make Carthage very tough to play (i.e. Non-coastal, landlocked, etc.)
Read More:
Top 5 Civ 7 Exploration Age Civilization and Leader Combinations
#6: Persia
If you want a pure Military Civilization, Persia will likely be higher on your list than #6. But, due to its somewhat restrictive playstyle and dependency on early snowballing, this felt like a good spot for the Persians.
Pros:
- Incredible Military synergy between Immortal and Hazarapatis
- Gate of All Nations can make you very hard to beat in War
- No better Civ in Antiquity for aggressive attacking
Cons:
- Very weak Unique Improvement (Pairidaeza)
- Can feel devastating if you lose units early
- Very restrictive playstyle
#5: Mississippian
The Mississippian Civ is where it feels like we start to turn a corner and get into the elite Antiquity Age Civilizations. They have strong balance and lots of things to love but still are outshined by a few others at #5.
Pros:
- Burning Arrow is one of the strongest Unique Units in Antiquity
- Some strong Exploration Age unlocks (Hawai’i and Shawnee, not Inca)
- Watonathi Unique Merchant is solid
Cons:
- Goose Societies ability feels weak by comparison until Food is made stronger
- Not an ideal starting bias
- Potkop Unique Improvement feels weak compared to other options
The Top 5 Antiquity Age Leader & Civilization Combinations in Civ 7 | Best early game builds
#4: Aksum
Coming in at #4 is Aksum, which I feel is the strongest Economic Civilization in the Antiquity Age. But, due to some map dependencies, Aksum can’t quite crack the top three.
Pros:
- A flat +2 Gold on Resources is quite strong
- Unique units can be incredible with a decent seed
- Hawilt is one of the better Unique Tile Improvements, especially when stacked
Cons:
- Limited Civ unlocks (Songhai)
- Dependent on getting a Coastal start to get value out of Unique Units
- Restrictive playstyle
Image Courtesy of Firaxis
#3: Greece
If you are a fan of Influence and Culture, then look no further than Greece at #3. There is a lot to love about Greece, which is our pick for the strongest Cultural Antiquity Civ and one of the best of the bunch.
Pros:
- Great Civ unlocks for Exploration and Modern Age (Norman, Spain, and Russia)
- Acropolis has tons of incredible benefits
- The early +3 influence on the Palace can be crucial to helping snowball City-State relationships
Cons:
- Logios can feel a bit too random but is still a strong unit
- Hoplites can feel weak and are a bit too dependent on situations
- Loosely restrictive playstyle, but still mostly flexible thanks to City-State relationships
Read More:
3 Best Leaders for Great Britain in Civ 7
#2: Rome
Just outside of the top spot is perhaps the most idyllic Antiquity Age Civilization – Rome. Rome is without a doubt the most adaptable on this list, feels strong in just about every aspect, and is a blast to play, only losing out to a truly broken Civ at the #1 spot.
Pros:
- Legatus may be the strongest Unique Unit in Antiquity
- The Forum is incredibly well balanced and feels incredible to get online
- The best Civilization unlocks for Exploration and Modern Age (six total including Great Britain, Spain, America, and French Empire)
- Incredible Culture scaling
Cons:
- The Colosseum isn’t the strongest Wonder to get early access to
- Not much to help progress Science
- Legion is strong, but does take time to scale
#1: Maya
Maya is not only the best overall Antiquity Age Civilization or the best Science Antiquity Civ, but it may also be the best Civ in the entire game, regardless of Age. If you are going to play one game of Civ 7, make sure you give the Mayans a try.
Pros:
- Best Scout unit in the Antiquity Age with the Jaguar Slayer
- Incredible, balanced Unique Quarter (Uwaybil K’uh)
- Ideal starting environment
- Great Civ unlocks for Exploration and Modern Age (Hawai’i and Mexico, not Inca)
- No better Science scaling in the game
Cons:
- A somewhat defensive style is required to get value out of traps and Vegetated Tiles
- Nothing – quit reading this and go play Maya!
Antiquity Age Civilization Tier List & Overall Ranking
Below is a tier list sorting out this ranking into set tiers, as some of the gaps between rankings felt much closer than others. We hope you enjoyed this list and be sure to check back for more Civ content on our Civ-specific YouTube channel,
CivHaus!
Final tier list of all Antiquity Age Civs, via TierMaker
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